Billiard cue



D. D. TRAILL April 19, 1966 BILLIARD CUE Filed Dec. 30, 1963 INVENTOR. D. TRAI LL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,246,895 BILLIARD CUE Dan D. Traill, 48219 Conifer, Fremont, Calif. Filed Dec. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 334,153 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-69) This invention relates in general to a pool or billiard cue of the type where the distal end and the cue tip move without the butt or handle portion being moved.

Generally, it is the object of this invention to provide a spring-operated pool cue where, in use, the handle is held steady and not reciprocated and the cue stick portion is driven forward sharply on release of a lock mechanism.

It is the further object of this invention to provide such a pool or billiard one which is provided with a pair of driving springs which are so arranged that a large force may be applied on break shots and lesser forces of varying degrees may be applied to the cue ball where less propulsive energy is required, one of the springs being used independently of the other, if desired.

Other objects and advantages of this invention, if not specifically .set forth, will become apparent during the course of the description which follows.

Generally, this invention comprises a pool one having a hollow stock, a stick slidably mounted therein, a plunger secured to the stick and slidably mounted in the stock, a compression spring within said stock which can be caused to abut the internal extreme end of the stock, a second spring within said stock adjacent to the other end of said stock, said second spring being secured within said stock at the end thereof nearest said stick, a rod having ratchet teeth secured co-axially of and to said stick and to which is secured one end of said second spring, said rod being of such a length and said second spring being of such a size that in the first extreme position said rod is out of contact with said first spring and said second spring is extended and under tension and in a second extreme position, said first spring is extended further and under tension and said second spring is compressed and under tension. Other intermediate positions may be provided for. Finally, a manually operated lock or trigger mechanism is provided for engaging the ratchet teeth of the rod in either of the two (or more) positions.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial sectional side elevation of a pool or billiard cue constructed according to this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view sirniiar to FIGURE 1 but showing the cue with the stick portion retracted or cooked and in a position ready to be released so as to strike a cue ball.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like characters refer to like parts throughout, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a hollow stock, generally 10, which is composed of three interlocking parts: a handle portion 12 which is threaded over an intermediate portion 14 in turn threaded over a forward portion 16. Each of these co-axial and interconnected elements is hollow to a greater or lesser extent and each is necessary so that in the event of malfunction the various parts of the stock can be disassembled and the internal elements reached.

A conventional butt plate 18 is secured to the rearmost portion 12. Compression spring 20 is shown in its uncompressed or untensioned position in FIGURE 1. The spring has a stop plate 22 fixed between the spring and the adjacent shoulder of the intermediate section 14. The intermediate section is of reduced internal diameter at the rearmost portion thereof so as to grasp loosely the terminal end of the rod 24 having ratchet teeth 26 therein. This rod is in turn engaged with the stick portion 28 by means of threads 29. The stick portion slides in the forwardmost portion 16 of the stock 10. A looking and release mechanism consists of a manually operated trigger member 30 pivoted about transverse pin 32. The tip of the trigger engages a notch 34 of slidable lock ing pin 36. The trigger itself has a compression spring 38 to keep it in its normally extended position so pin 36 is automatically engaged with a ratchet tooth as seen in FIGURE 2, when the stick and attached rod are re tracted. Toward the other end of the stock there is seen another helical spring 40 which is engaged rod 24 by means of a hook 42 and engaged with the face of the shoulder 44. An alternative method of attaching this spring to the shoulder 44 consists of providing an external thread on that portion of the shoulder nearest the spring (so as to form a sleeve about the adjacent portion of rod 24) and screwing the spring over the threaded portion. This spring is shown in its normal non-tensioned state in FIGURE 1 and is under tension and extended in FIGURE 2 so that, from the position shown in FIG URE 2, the spring will tend to return to the position shown in FIGURE 1 and to move the stick portion and one tip forward when the trigger 30 is squeezed. As seen in FIGURE 2, there is also provided a disc 46 secured to the rod 24 so as to prevent spring 40 from telescoping within itself on its retum to the position shown in FIGURE 1. The disc strikes the extending shoulders ot the cylindrical stop 48 so as to provide sudden stopping action at the point when the spring 40 has just returned to the position shown in FIGURE 1.

In operation, the stick portion may be retracted to any extent desired within the limitation of the ability of the ratchet notches to hold it fixed in such a position. Iii the position of FIGURE 2, the rear spring 20 is not compressed and a relatively light stroke is applied to the cue ball. When the stick is retracted farther back into the handle so as to compress spring 20, considerably greater forces are applied and this permits effective action on breaks.

Obviously, many modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pool cue comprising:

(a) a hollow stock;

(b) a stick slidably mounted therein;

(c) a compression spring within said stock abutting the interior extreme end of said stock;

(d) a second spring said stock adjacent the other end of said stock, said secondspr-ing being secured within said stock at the end thereof nearest to said stick;

(e) a rod having ratchet teeth therein secured coaxially of said stick and to which is secured an end of said second spring, said rod being of such a length and second spring being of such a size that in a first extreme position said rod is out of contact with said first spring and said second spring is extended and under tens-ion and in a second extreme position said first spring is extended and under tension and said second spring is compressed and under tension;

and

(f) a manually operated lock for engaging said ratchet teeth at either of said two positions.

2. The structure of claim :1 wherein the stock consists of a plurality of telescoping sections, one containing the first spring and one containing the second spring with the third being occupied by a portion of said rod having ratchet teeth.

3. The structure of claim :1 wherein said rod having ratchet teeth has at least four of said teeth.

No references cited.

RICHARD C. PINKI-IAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A POOL CUE COMPRISING: (A) A HOLLOW STOCK; (B) A STICK SLIDABLY MOUNTED THEREIN; (C) A COMPRESSION SPRING WITHIN SAID STOCK ABUTTING THE INTERIOR EXTREME END OF SAID STOCK; (D) A SECOND SPRING WITHIN SAID STOCK ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID STOCK, SAID SECOND SPRING BEING SECURED WITHIN SAID STOCK AT THE END THEREOF NEAREST TO SAID STICK; (E) A ROD HAVING RATCHET TEETH THEREIN SECURED COAXIALLY OF SAID STICK AND TO WHICH IS SECURED AN END OF SAID SECOND SPRING, SAID ROD BEING OF SUCH A LENGTH AND SECOND SPRING BEING OF SUCH A SIZE THAT IN A FIRST EXTREME POSITION SAID ROD IS OUT OF CONTACT WITH SAID FIRST SPRING AND SAID SECOND SPRING IS EXTENDED AND UNDER TENSION AND IN A SECOND EXTREME POSITION SAID FIRST SPRING IS EXTENDED AND UNDER TENSION AND SAID SECOND SPRING IS COMPRESSED AND UNDER TENSION; AND (F) A MANUALLY OPERATED LOCK FOR ENGAGING SAID RATCHET TEETH AT EITHER OF SAID TWO POSITIONS. 